Gravitas Minerals is leveraging its Optima Concentrator™ gravity separator to recover iron ore from tailings facilities and provide ‘value from waste’.

Using hindered settling, fluidised bed and autogenous dense medium separation technology to separate iron ore from gangue based on density, the Optima Concentrator has high throughput capacities of up to 40 t/h sq.m. This, the company says, is the ultimate low-footprint, water-only solution for fine iron ore recovery.

The company is using the Optima Concentrator to develop its so-called Kalahari Process™, which produces an iron ore product with a minimum grade of 63% Fe from various iron ore feed sources. The process has seen great success to date by yielding recoveries of up to 80%. In addition, the process is ideally set up for the direct reuse of water by dry stacking of both the product and tailings streams, according to the company.

An agglomeration stage added to the process can also produce fit-for-handling high-grade pellets, the company claimed. Another option would be to market the product as fines concentrate, a norm in the West African and Indian markets.

Gravitas Minerals Director, Tebogo Kale, said: “By utilising the Kalahari Process, iron ore producers can unlock the full potential of their mineral resource. In so doing, they can prolong the lifespan of their tailings’ facilities by up to 50%, reduce the disposal of iron ore tailings and the associated environmental impact, increase their revenues and ultimately boost profits.”